Woman will get a hand for lending a hand

Updated 1:54 am, Friday, November 16, 2012

Photo: Lisa Krantz, San Antonio Express-News

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Volunteer Rachel Ponce assesses costume needs for Daisy Beltran, 12, center, and Emily Ajuech, 13, left, so she can create their costumes for their upcoming performance of The Nutcracker at the Young Women's Leadership Academy in San Antonio on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012. less

Volunteer Rachel Ponce assesses costume needs for Daisy Beltran, 12, center, and Emily Ajuech, 13, left, so she can create their costumes for their upcoming performance of The Nutcracker at the Young Women's ... more

Photo: Lisa Krantz, San Antonio Express-News

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Volunteer Rachel Ponce measures Daisy Beltran, 12, for a hat, center, while Emily Ajuech, 13, left, and Anjelisa Camacho, 12, right, watch their classmates practice their routine in their dance class as they prepare for an upcoming performance of The Nutcracker at the Young Women's Leadership Academy in San Antonio on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012. less

Volunteer Rachel Ponce measures Daisy Beltran, 12, for a hat, center, while Emily Ajuech, 13, left, and Anjelisa Camacho, 12, right, watch their classmates practice their routine in their dance class as they ... more

Photo: Lisa Krantz, San Antonio Express-News

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Volunteer Rachel Ponce measures the head of Vivian Bauer, 12, for a hat so she can create the costumes for the Young Women's Leadership Academy dance department's upcoming performance of The Nutcracker at the school in San Antonio on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012.

Volunteer Rachel Ponce measures the head of Vivian Bauer, 12, for a hat so she can create the costumes for the Young Women's Leadership Academy dance department's upcoming performance of The Nutcracker at the

These days, you might find Rachel Ponce hunched over her bathtub, applying a dark green dye to white ballet tutus.

Or asking the bond project manager for the San Antonio Independent School District pointed questions about schematic design and “flow time.”

“I go from all ends of the spectrum,” Ponce said of her volunteer work, which currently includes helping the Young Women's Leadership Academy dance team members with their costumes for “The Nutcracker” — on her own time and free of charge. For many in the district, the 63-year-old grandmother is a familiar face.

A product of SAISD herself, Ponce is one of 15 volunteers across the state who the Texas Education Agency will honor today in Austin with its Heroes for Children award.

“I'm very humbled,” she said this week.

As a member of the 1997 bond committee that designated which schools needed the most help, Ponce said she fought to get schools in her neighborhood on the list — helping to raise the bond amount from $250 million to more than $483 million.

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Mireles nominated Ponce for the award after notifying State Board of Education District 3 representative, Michael Soto. Soto said supporting the nomination was easy after Ponce's name rose to the top of a TEA ranking list for the area.

“Rachel Ponce is tireless on behalf of San Antonio kids and she is a true moral compass for everyone involved in education in San Antonio and beyond,” he said.

While Ponce ties the beginning of her volunteer work to her involvement with the 1997 bond, it really dates back to the 1980s, said Mireles, who met Ponce when her husband — the late state District Judge Andy Mireles — was on the school board.

“She was a very vocal advocate for children, the community, parents,” Margaret Mireles said. “Even back then, she did so much.”

Ponce has served on practically every bond and school committee, volunteered as a member of the SAISD Foundation and has become a sort of impromptu liaison between parents and school staff.

“My husband used to say, ‘If you were paid for every hour that you volunteered, we would be rich,' but I used to say, ‘OK, we're not rich but we're rich in other ways,'” Ponce said.

She currently serves as a member of the citizens' oversight committee in charge of monitoring the progress of SAISD's 2010 bond, where she is known as a vocal watchdog.

With two grandchildren in district schools, she'll continue volunteering until her health gives out, she said.

“I am not one of these big ego persons. I do things because I feel good about doing them and I want to make a difference,” Ponce said.